Math is not everyone's favorite subject, but kids need basic math skills for school and everyday life. Making math fun with apps like Math Plus Minus is a great way to stimulate, encourage, and improve math skills.

Designed for young math learners, Math Plus Minus by PKCLsoft teaches the basic skills of addition and subtraction. Snowy scenes with squirrels in scarves and mittens provide an interesting animation and screen for children. Each question in a given round is displayed prominently, and answers inside bubbles are pumped onto the screen. Tapping the correct answer results in cheering and other affirmations; when you tap an incorrect answer, the voice says, "keep practicing" and allows you multiple tries to get the correct answer.

For each question you receive four possible answers. The challenge round gives you ten possible options, which are taken away as you answer each question. You have the option of timing the game or turning the timer off (an ideal option for younger children). You can also select to practice just addition, just subtraction, or both addition and subtraction.

The settings of Math Minus Plus also allow you to choose the biggest number you want to add or subtract and the number of questions you want in each round. Select multiples of 10 starting from 10 and going to 100. The "-" button on the settings screen turns on or off the negative number function. You can also turn off the music and sounds. One great feature of the app is that when you turn the music off, it gradually fades over a couple of seconds rather than just stopping abruptly. The music has some bluesy grooves and upbeat tunes.

Math Plus Minus also allows you to connect to Game Center, so you can keep track of your scores and compare scores on the leader board. The app also keeps track of your personal high scores and congratulates you when you reach a new high score.

The Math Plus Minus app is simple to use but is very engaging from the first screen, so it is easy for your child to be drawn into the game. The music, sound design, and graphics make the app feel more like a video game, which is very appealing to kids — they will learn their basic math skills without even realizing it.

PKCLsoft is a member of Moms with Apps, a group of family-friendly apps that promote quality apps for kids. Math Plus Minus is a universal app, so it works for iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone. The app costs $2.99.